How the Colorado Standard upended professional cycling's program version

Fred Dreier

August 29, 2019

Rapid Talk podcast

The Colorado Standard established a cost-cutting way to air the race that overthrew pro biking's standard-- and expensive-- broadcast version.

Rainfall spurted down and lightning snapped above as the specialist peloton sloshed with the streets of Colorado Springs for the opening stage of the 2017 Colorado Standard.

Across the world, hundreds of fans tuned in to the inaugural race's real-time transmission and also were greeted by a puzzling picture.

" I still remember this minute-- the TV cam was just focused on a bush at the beginning line," says Rob Simon, the chief marketing officer for RPM Occasions Team, proprietor of the race. "That was the only point they can get a picture of. We're paying all of this money to be on TELEVISION, as well as all we can see is a bush."

For its inaugural edition, the Colorado Standard was held along with a two-day rock show, called Velorama, and also the entire plan was heavily promoted as a turbulent service for professional cycling's service difficulties.

Yet the race still relied on the typical version for transmission. The system, made use of at the Trip de France as well as Amgen Trip of The Golden State, among other races, is excessively pricey as well as infamously at risk to negative climate. And throughout the 2017 edition, the program was often rinsed.

Memories of that wet day in Colorado Springs had an effective impact on RPM's monitoring group, and also helped start a years-long procedure to reimagine the race's live broadcast. Simon and also his team analyzed new and also low-cost innovation for transmitting online sporting activities. They developed a technique to overcome the shortcomings positioned by the new technology. As well as lastly, they gambled on a real-time streaming version that dropped TV stations entirely.

" We BJ방송 spent a lot of cash that first year to broadcast it on [television]-- we stuck with the old design as well as we weren't satisfied with it," says Ken Gart, chairman of RPM Occasions Group. "In 2015 we made a decision to introduce with live streaming. As well as this year we took it a step even more and the high quality boosted as well as the costs dropped."

Now, the lessons found out by the RPM Events group might aid more races afford online broadcast. While the race's rock concert concept might have vanished, the Colorado Classic's television version might actually interrupt pro biking's service model.